Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 7 - Yeon Mok Sword Manor (3)

Chapter 7 – Yeon Mok Sword Manor (3)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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A middle-aged man in his fifties lay on a sickbed with a pale face.

Even breathing seemed burdensome, and he kept coughing.

Each time the old physician by his side wiped the corners of his mouth with cloth, black blood stained it.

“Ha…”

A sigh slipped from the old physician’s mouth at the sight.

The condition was worsening, and the end was not far.

He had treated him using all his knowledge and experience, but even in all his long years as a physician, he had never seen an illness like this.

‘Is there really nothing that can be done?’

As the physician in charge of Yeon Mok Sword Manor, the situations that would unfold afterward flickered before his eyes.

Bloody strife would erupt between the brothers.

‘Manor Lord. You should have named a successor.’

The Manor Lord had not chosen an heir.

Because of that, even the retainers could do nothing but watch the current situation in frustration.

In truth, it was something everyone knew.

‘If you favored him that much, you should simply have made the youngest one your heir.’

The Manor Lord cherished his youngest son, Mok Yu-cheon.

That talent was so outstanding that it might appear only once in three generations.

At fourteen, he had already mastered the family’s martial arts and reached the realm of first-rate.

And now, only two years later, at sixteen, he had reached the threshold of the peak realm.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that among the promising youths of his generation, his overwhelming talent ranked in the top ten.

Moreover, his temperament closely resembled the Manor Lord’s own.

‘Young Master Mok Yu-cheon.’

If the Manor Lord had openly supported him, the retainers would have stepped forward and solidified his position.

Even if he had been born of nothing more than a courtesan.

Of course, in that case he would have incurred the wrath of the First Madam.

‘This is bad. Very bad.’

The First Madam’s devotion to her first son, Mok Yeong-ho, was absolute.

Though he was called a wastrel, that did not change.

Because of this, from the Second Young Master down to the Third Young Master, all had begun openly revealing their own greed.

The instant the Manor Lord drew his last breath, Yeon Mok Sword Manor would be stained with the brothers’ blood.

‘What is this place to become? Hoo.’

He was only a mere physician.

There was nothing he could do.

It was while he was sighing like that.

The Manor Lord’s door opened.

‘Who?’

When the old physician turned his head, his expression hardened.

A white face covered with powder to hide wrinkles.

Lips reddened with rouge, splendid clothes adorned with jewelry.

This middle-aged madam, with upturned eyes and pupils full of arrogance, was Madam Seok, the First Madam of Yeon Mok Sword Manor.

The old physician bowed his head.

“F-First Madam.”

“As I thought.”

At her words, the old physician gave a faint sigh and nodded.

“My medical skill is lacking, and it seems there is nothing I can do.”

-“I see. So there truly is no way to save him with medicine.”

“It is only because I am incompetent. If you would punish me…”

Ssk.

Madam Seok waved a hand, plainly showing she did not want to hear it.

Then, with a sigh, she said,

“Every physician said to be skilled in the surrounding region, including you, says that this is a strange phenomenon that cannot even be named as an illness and cannot be explained by medicine. Then there is only one method left.”

“Madam!”

At those words, the old physician looked at Madam Seok, his white beard trembling.

Madam Seok shot him a cold look and said,

“My husband’s life is hanging by a thread, and you speak as though this is a time to be picky?”

“But arts of that sort are no more than bizarre tricks used by charlatans. How could one rely on such dubious…”

“And yet you yourself said my husband’s sickness is no different from a strange phenomenon.”

“That may be true, but…”

“Then why do you oppose using an occult practitioner who deals with strange phenomena? Are you telling me I should simply wait for my husband to die?”

“That is not what I mean…”

“I do not wish to hear it. I have already summoned an occult practitioner to the detached hall, so Physician Ha should withdraw and take his hands off this matter.”

“Madam!”

“Do you wish to be dragged out by force?”

At those words, the old physician had no choice but to retreat, almost as though he were being driven out.

There was already nothing he could do.

Having come outside, the old physician clicked his tongue in pity as he looked toward the inner hall where the sickbed lay.

‘To bring in an occult practitioner to cure a strange phenomenon? Haa. So in the end she means to kill a man with a quack.’

“… That is the current state of Yeon Mok Sword Manor.”

“What an interesting household this place is.”

‘Interesting?’

He had just learned the situation he himself was in, and that was the reaction?

Gochan clicked his tongue at Mok Gyeong-un’s response.

It would not be an exaggeration to say Mok Gyeong-un was standing in the most dangerous center of it all.

If the fact that he was fake were exposed, it might not even be the other young masters but the retainers who would tear his limbs apart and kill him.

And yet even after hearing this, he remained utterly relaxed.

‘I truly cannot tell what he is thinking.’

If Gochan himself had been in Mok Gyeong-un’s place, he would have tried to escape somehow.

The situation was hopeless.

Even Guard Gam, his own senior, was preparing to throw this one away.

In the end, the boy would inevitably be battered about and eliminated.

‘… Even though he subdued me with poison, there is no way to fix his situation, you fool.’

For now, Gochan had no choice but to follow.

But he had not the slightest intention of helping Mok Gyeong-un succeed.

So he had concealed some of the information.

If what he told him was seventy percent of the truth, then the remaining thirty percent connected to themselves had been hidden.

-‘Hoo. Just wait.’

Once he neutralized the poison, somehow he would take his rev…

Flinch.

The instant his eyes met Mok Gyeong-un’s, Gochan’s body trembled.

Just looking into those eyes sent a cold shiver down his back.

He felt pathetic for being afraid in such a way, but this one was somehow different from normal people.

There was something about him that frightened people.

‘A devil-like bastard.’

Yes.

That description suited him best.

Even now, he could not forget those ominous eyes.

“Bodyguard Gochan.”

“Y-yes.”

Gochan answered with military stiffness.

Whatever his inner thoughts, instinct told him that for now he had to obey this one without fail.

“So originally, the real Mok Gyeong-un and Guard Gam intended to put me up as a stand-in, then use the First Young Master, Mok Yeong-ho, to move against Mok Eun-pyeong and kill him.”

“… That is correct.”

That had been the best plan they had initially devised.

Its name was Fisherman’s Gain.

The idea was that the Second Young Master, Mok Eun-pyeong, would relax once he thought he had killed the stand-in,

and then the First Young Master, Mok Yeong-ho, would strike him from behind.

To make that happen, they had already been filling Mok Yeong-ho’s head with delusions through a courtesan they had recruited.

‘They worked their heads quite a bit.’

Mok Gyeong-un gave a faint smile.

The plan itself was plausible.

If they had carried it out that way, neither the First Madam nor her maternal relatives could have interfered greatly.

Rather, it would have become a shameful exposure for them.

‘It could have gone well, but I became the variable. So that is what this is.’

Only now did he understand why Guard Gam was trying to change lines.

Guard Gam did not trust him.

If he had trusted him, or had been confident he could control him perfectly, then he would have slightly altered the original best plan and pushed ahead with it.

But he distrusted him, and so he would not.

In the end, Guard Gam’s change of heart and the state of this household could only work against Mok Gyeong-un.

‘Then is there only one conclusion?’

He either had to kill Guard Gam or pull him onto his own side.

But both were difficult.

The latter was difficult because the man had no trust in him from the start,

and the former was difficult because, unlike Gochan, Guard Gam was certainly stronger than he was.

That made killing him difficult.

“Bodyguard Gochan.”

“… Yes.”

“How much stronger is Guard Gam than you are?”

“Stronger than me?”

“Yes.”

“… Guard Gam is a first-rate expert, so he is at least two or three times stronger than I am.”

Gochan possessed the skill of a second-rate martial man.

By contrast, Guard Gam was first-rate.

In terms of internal power alone he was nearly at half a gapja, so purely in terms of numbers it was more than twice as much,

but if one considered realization and practical skill together, it was better to say three times.

That was the usual gap between second-rate and first-rate.

“From your point of view, do I look capable of killing Guard Gam?”

-“Pardon?”

“That is exactly what I mean. Do I look capable of killing him?”

At that question, Gochan furrowed his brow.

Now that he knew how this household was moving, had he decided that Guard Gam had to die?

But this boy still did not know that they themselves were trying to switch lines.

Or had he guessed it from only fragments of information?

Gulp.

If it was the latter, then his insight was truly terrifying.

What sort of bastard was this?

His way of thinking was on a completely different level from that of the real Mok Gyeong-un.

“Is the question difficult? You’ve fought with me too, so you should have some sense of it.”

At those words, Gochan hesitated before answering,

“Y-Young Master, even if your strength is great and your body movement is good, a first-rate expert cannot really be compared to lower people like me in either technique or internal power.”

“So the conclusion is that I cannot win.”

“… Yes.”

“Do not watch your words. I think so too.”

“…”

If he knew that already, why ask?

As Gochan stood puzzled, Mok Gyeong-un changed the question.

“Then if I learned martial arts, would the odds change at all?”

“Pardon?”

“I mean, what if I learned martial arts?”

At that question, Gochan nearly burst out laughing.

He admitted this one was stronger than himself in raw strength.

And he also admitted he was not like ordinary people.

But learning martial arts was a completely different matter.

Gochan forced his expression under control and said,

“… Young Master. The foundation of martial arts is the cultivation of internal training.”

“Internal training?”

“Yes. By internal training, I mean circulating the energy of nature through the body through breathing methods and gathering internal power.”

“And?”

“Once internal power accumulates, one becomes stronger and tougher.”

“That certainly seems to be the case.”

In all his life, Mok Gyeong-un had never met anyone stronger than himself.

Yet those who had learned martial arts were different.

“But internal power is not something that can be accumulated overnight.”

“So it takes time?”

“Yes. It differs from person to person and from breathing method to breathing method, but internal power is formed and accumulated through long practice. So if one begins learning martial arts, could he possibly catch up overnight to someone who has trained for many long years?”

‘And for you, it is already too late.’

Internal power training too had a proper age at which it should begin.

At minimum, between five and nine was considered appropriate,

because when one was that young, the body was pliable and the meridians were not yet clogged with impurities.

At Mok Gyeong-un’s age, a considerable amount of impurities would already have built up, narrowing the meridians.

“So in the short term, it is difficult.”

“Yes.”

‘No. Even if you train for life, it will be difficult.’

Gochan did not say that part.

-He saw no need to tell him,

and he feared that if he did, the boy might merely grow displeased and vent that displeasure on him somehow.

‘Struggle all you want. There is no use. Now you understand your position, don’t you?’

The Manor Lord was already at death’s door.

Not only the manor’s own physician but every reputed doctor had said it was hopeless.

From the beginning, they said it was a sickness so inexplicable it had to be called a strange phenomenon.

Once such a Manor Lord died, then no matter how much this fake struggled, he too would be finished.

‘Just wait. When that time comes, I will repay this humiliation in ful-‘

Tap.

At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un rose to his feet.

Then he beckoned Gochan and said,

“Let’s go.”

“Pardon? Go where?”

Was he perhaps planning to flee?

If so, that would be a foolish choi…

“Guide me to where this Manor Lord is.”

“Pardon? Why suddenly would you ask where the Manor Lord is?”

At that, Mok Gyeong-un gave a faint smile and said,

“You say my lifeline is bound to whether that Manor Lord lives or dies, so I would like to see for myself how close to death he is.”

‘!?’

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